Diving In May - First time in Indonesia

[shay&ty]

Mine and my husbands first time going to Indonesia! We're very excited but I'll be the first to say we're pretty lost on where we should prioritize our time. We have about two weeks mid-May that we will be there and would love suggestions on where we should go for scuba diving, (we aren't muck divers and we like large sea life).

Currently this is our plan:

Fly to either Jakarta or Bali (leaning towards Bali) from there we are thinking to go to either Komodo or Alor for diving.

Komodo - We've heard great things about the diving and it seems easy to get to. We are open to liveaboards, resorts, or just a regular dive shop.

Alor - We are thinking about adding this island to our trip however we aren't finding ways to travel there? Is there a boat or flight that we can use to get there? Also is it the right time of year to be going to Alor?

We would like to try to see and do as much as possible in the two weeks so if you have suggestions or maybe a liveaboard that acts like a cruise so we can get some sight seeing done as well that would be awesome.

 

[Dan]

I would suggest you take the liveaboard from Maumere to Alor and back to Maumere, like this one: 2024 - Mermaid Liveaboards

You will need to fly from Denpasar, Bali to Maumere, Flores. You can book the domestic flights from tiket.com.

@aquabluegreg should be able to help you in booking the liveaboard.

 

[Cali_diver]

I think you should just focus on Komodo for the mantas. Alor diving can be pretty advanced and cold depending on where you dive.

 

[Centrals]

Indonesia is NOT easy to travel around. Cut the domestic travelling to absolute minimum.
Komodo should satisfy any divers.
LoB offers more dive but resort based offers flexibility that LoB cannot provide.
Bali offers both culture + diving (after the trip to Komodo).

 

[Searcaigh]

Another option to look at is North Sulawesi, fly into Singapore then onto Manado.

Bunaken National Park has some amazing dives that will give you a taste for what Indonesia has to offer.

Bali is also amazing and has probably more land based stuff to do but it is more touristy.

If this is your first dive trip out of the US and going to Indo, then don't bite off more than you can chew, do easy stuff and be aware the cultural differences too. Bali is very different from N. Sulawesi.

 

[Dan]

I think you should just focus on Komodo for the mantas. Alor diving can be pretty advanced and cold depending on where you dive.

She says May. Komodo diving season starts in June as shown by Mermaid liveaboard.

The best Komodo season is August actually. I have been there in June, July, August (3x) and December & January. My 8th trip to Komodo is in August next year. Never been there in May. Have you?

Here is Manta Alley in August this year:

 

[Dan]

Best time to dive in Bali is also August to September to see Manta & Mola Mola.

Here are my trip videos diving in Bali in August last year:

 

[Dan]

Another option to look at is North Sulawesi, fly into Singapore then onto Manado.

Bunaken National Park has some amazing dives that will give you a taste for what Indonesia has to offer.

Bali is also amazing and has probably more land based stuff to do but it is more touristy.

If this is your first dive trip out of the US and going to Indo, then don't bite off more than you can chew, do easy stuff and be aware the cultural differences too. Bali is very different from N. Sulawesi.

She says she prefers to see big animals, not tiny critters (Muck Diving) which Lembeh is famous for.

 

[Dan]

My last diving in Alor was in end of April this year.

 

[Luko]

Komodo diving season starts in June as shown by Mermaid liveaboard.

The best Komodo season is August actually.

Mermaid is just one liveaboard they don't dictate weather or seasons in Indonesia, it's just that a lot of boats make more money cruising Raja Ampat until May.
Komodo's beginning of the season starts around April when the rain stops in LBJ (in fact the diving hardly stops if you want to go south from dec to Feb).
You'll find many liveaboards departing from LBJ who'll stay year round in the area.
I would say the shoulder seasons (May & Oct-Nov) are the best since you can access all the areas North and South and there are fewer divers than in august where all the backpacker fundivers (and me ...) crowd the central sites.

I would say as well that Komodo and Bali are enough for two weeks, it's a little short to combine with Alor that needs a full week, all in all 9 days traveling since you'd have to overnight in Kupang (the travel pattern is DPS-KOE / overnight in KOE/ KOE-ARD morning flight on WingsAir, the ARD-KOE-DPS return can be done in one day).